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Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Bottle Feeding Supplies

We ended up being bottle feeders with our little miss Meghan. It wasn't what we planned on, but it became necessary for us. (You can read the back story here.)We began our parenting journey with two bottles, a bottle brush, and a drying rack. We quickly discovered that we were going to need more things if we were going to be bottle feeding full time! Here are the things that we have purchased and loved. I've done lots of research on products and this is the system and tools that have worked for us.

(Little Miss after her first bottle - she was full for the first time and so happy!)

Dr Browns Bottles and Nipples (lots of them!) - We purchased seven more of these bottles aside from the initial two that we had. We have 2 glass bottles and 7 plastic. The plastic are much lighter and easier to use during middle of the night feedings when you are beyond exhausted (they were also less expensive). We only purchased the 8 ounce bottles; they were a little big in the early days, but they can hold only one ounce as well as a 4 ounce bottle and we didn't want to own that many bottles! (Note: Not all babies take the same bottles well. At one point Meghan was having a lot of feeding issues and we tried a variety of different bottles - but we ended up coming back to Dr. Browns. With her tummy issues, the ability for these bottles to keep the bubbles away from the baby's sucking is a good deal! I wouldn't buy a ton of one bottle until you are sure that your baby will take it well.)

(Yes, that's a four ounce bottle. After hearing that we are having to bottle feed full time, some great friends loaned us the bottles they weren't using while we waited on our bottle order to get in.

We were so appreciative of their generosity!)

Boon Grass Drying Rack and Twig Accessory - This is adorable sitting out on the counter! It can hold so many bottle parts so well. It's also great for drying water bottle parts, reusable straws, canning lids, measuring spoons, etc. We have often remarked that we will probably continue using it after we are no longer feeding with bottles - it's design is just so handy!

OXO Bottle Brush - I don't feel any special attachment to this particular brush, but it's what we have and it's worked well. Again, this is something we see continuing to use after we are no longer bottle feeding. It's great for cleaning glasses and water bottles!

Dr Browns Sterilizer - Since we go through so many bottles (especially in the early days of feeding every 2-3 hours) I decided that a sterilizer would be a good thing to have! I sterilize all of my bottles twice a week. You simply put some water in the bottom, add all of your parts (there is no specific way this has to be done, but lots of holes for sticking things in), and microwave. As the water heats up, the steam sterilizes everything. So easy and good peace of mind that everything is getting cleaned out of her bottles.

Formula Organizers - I had two of the circular ones from when I would measure supplements for green smoothies. I bought the stacking oneto use in the diaper bag since it stored more easily in the bag by being upright. It also holds her current 6-10 ounces much better. This allows me to measure out formula less often and makes for quick bottles in the middle of the night!

Bibs and Burp Cloths - We put Meghan in a bib for each feeding when she was itty bitty. Now we only need a burp cloth for each feeding. My favorite burp cloths are the flannel ones that I made myself!

A Basket - We have a basket in the cabinet where we store ALL of the bottle parts (and with nine Dr. Browns bottles, there are a lot of parts!). We have another one where we store her formula, formula organizers, and any supplements we are adding (Chamomile tea, most often) in the pantry. And old basket will do!

We serve little miss her bottles at room temperature - this way we can get her water right out of the Berkey for each bottle (yes, she drinks filtered water unless we absolutely don't have access - we're doing all we can to keep her as healthy as possible!). This also makes it easier to feed her in public where a microwave to heat water and then heat her bottle just may not be available.

I make sure that (even if I don't plan to be gone long enough to need one) I have a bottle and some formula with us whenever we leave the house. You never know when you might be out longer than expected, and having a starving baby could make things very unpleasant very fast.

Other bottle feeding mamas, any tools that I missed? Any amazing tools that I don't know about and should?